FIRST PURCHASE AT RIO 2016 COPACABANA MEGASTORE USING VISA PAYMENT RING

Visa Unveils Commemorative Rio 2016 Prepaid Cards and Offers Consumers New Ways to Pay for Rio 2016 Olympic Games themed Merchandise as Megastore Opens on Copacabana Beach

Rio de Janeiro, June 30, 2016 –Attendees of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be able to make purchases quickly on-the-go. New wearables and prepaid cards by Visa—the only payment accepted at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games other than cash—will make payments at the Olympic Games easier and more accessible at 4,000 locations throughout Olympic Park.

Among these locations is the Rio 2016 Copacabana Megastore, located on the sands of Rio’s iconic Copacabana beach. Team Visa athlete Terezinha Guilhermina (Brazil/Paralympics) celebrated the store’s grand opening by making the first ever purchase using Visa’s new wearable technology.

In addition to the first-ever payments using wearables, Visa has debuted the Bradesco Visa Rio 2016 Olympic Games themed Commemorative prepaid cards. The cards, which feature Olympic and Paralympic mascots Vinicius and Tom respectively, will only be available in Olympic Park. Fans can use them at the Rio 2016 Megastore in Copacabana or at any of the kiosks across the Rio 2016 venues, which will also serve as a Visa Customer Service touch point for any questions or issues related to Visa cards.

“I’m proud to serve as a Team Visa athlete and represent a brand that shares the same values of acceptance and inclusion as I do,” said Terezinha Guilhermina. “It’s an exciting time to work with Visa because they’re bringing the future of payments to life at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.”

The new Visa Payment Ring and the Pulseira Bradesco Visa bracelet, new payment wearables created by Visa, both use Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled technology to make payments quick and easy anywhere in Rio where contactless payments are accepted. 

“In our 30 years of sponsorship of the Olympic movement, this marks the first games where wearable technology and mobile technology will be widely implemented,” said Jim McCarthy, EVP, Innovation & Strategic Partnerships at Visa. “Whether you’re choosing to pay with your phone, card or watch, fans and athletes can count on Visa to be accepted at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games across the entire Olympic footprint, including the Copacabana Megastore.”

The Copacabana Megastore will feature more than 3,000 Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games licensed products and will be open to the public from 9:00 – 22:00, July 1 through October 31.

For more information about Visa’s Olympic Games sponsorship and Rio 2016 activation, please visit https://usa.visa.com/olympics.html.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 30 June 2016

1. Locals on the boardwalk

2. Server with drinks passes in front of Copacabana Megastore

3. Local musicians playing on the beach

4. Tilt up - Exterior of Copacabana Megastore

5. Tilt down - Exterior of Copacabana Megastore

6. Wide - Static Exterior of Copacabana Megastore

7. “Megastore Rio 2016” exterior signage

8. Low POV - Megastore Rio 2016 exterior signage with VISA in foreground

9. Ribbon Cutting and pan to attending media

10. 2016 Olympic and Paralympic game mascots in front of media

11. 2016 Olympic and Paralympic mascots playing with toy bin

12. From left, Popole Misenga admires mascot toys 

13. From left, Popole Misenga, Olympic official and Yolande Mabika admire mascot toys

14. Popole Misenga poses for a picture and shows off his Visa Payment Ring

15. Popole Misenga poses for a picture and shows off the Bradesco band

16. From left, Popole Misenga, Terezinha Guilhermina and Yolande Mabika pose for a picture

17. Side View: From left, Popole Misenga, Terezinha Guilhermina and Yolande Mabika pose for a picture

18. Medium: Popole Misenga being interviewed by media

19. Wide: Popole Misenga being interviewed by media

20. Flip flop display 

21. Customers entering the Megastore

22. Popole Misenga purchases first items from the Copacabana Megastore

23. High POV: Popole Misenga paying for items with his payment ring

24. Closeup view of Popole Misenga’s hand and ring paying for items

25. Tilt down to Popole Misenga’s hand and ring paying for items

26. Store mannequins 

27. Store mannequin rack focus

28. Customers perusing the toy bin

29. Customers taking a selfie inside the Megastore 

30. Pan of merchandise

31. Pan of merchandise ALT

32. Static shot of merchandise 

33. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Popole Misenga, Judo, Team Visa Athlete

34. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Yolande Mabika, Judo, Team Visa Athlete

35. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Terezinha Guilhermina, Judo, Team Visa Paralympic Athlete 

The Summer Olympic Games in Rio are less than 30 days away and the city is in its final stretch of preparations.  The grand opening of the Olympic Megastore on Rio’s iconic Copacabana beach marks the official start of another type of Olympic race--the race to keep shelves stocked with official merchandise. 

The Copacabana Megastore features more than 3,000 Olympic and Paralympic licensed products which include everything from stuffed toy mascots to shirts to bikinis.

VISA made a splash of their own by debuting new wearables in the form of a Payment Ring.  The first transaction at the Megastore was made by Olympic athletes using the new technology. The slick looking ring, along with the Bradesco VISA bracelet, uses Near Field Communication technology or "NFC". 

The store was opened by two athletes from the newly formed Olympic Refugee's team alongside Brazilian Paralympic runner Terezinha Guilhermina [GEEL-HER-MEENA]

The store is predicted to account for 15 percent of retail sales totaling 1 billion Brazilian reals—about $310 million U-S dollars.

The megastore is now open to the public through October 31^st.

Additional assets available via AP Video Hub and AP Media Port:

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